American Football Association Cup 1917 – South Region Final
The preliminary rounds went mostly as expected with the three of the top four seeds reaching the Region Semi-Finals.  The Chattanooga Switchmen were the only one of the top four to not advance, falling in a crushing 4-1 loss to Oklahoma City.  The Windstorms’ success was short-lived as Dallas trounced them in the Quarter-Finals.  Regional Division champion Nashville Athenians continued on their path towards a second title by then taking down the Cotton Bolls 4-2. 
 
On the other side of the bracket, Charlotte Coronets took down the defending Region titlist Memphis Americans in the first round and then trounced Tulsa Oilstrikers.   Birmingham only snuck by Houston Texian FC and Little Rock Arsenal by one-goal margins.  The Baronets’ luck ran out in the semi-final as they suffered a humiliating 4-0 defeat to the Coronets.
 
In the South Region Final, the Athenium was packed with Athenian fans, in either expectation of another title for the year.  The raucous crowd was quickly quieted when Brandon Huang opened the scoring with a left-footed strike in the first minute.  The lead doubled six minutes later after a Douglas Sullivan free kick.  The Athenians got over their shock and pulled a goal back when Brice Ross slotted a pinpoint pass from Willy Lewis into the Coronets’ net.  Hope was dashed when Art Roach responded nine minutes later with a thundering volley.  Hope was quashed when Roach struck again three minutes before halftime.  The second half saw the Coronets come out in an unyielding defensive pose in order to keep the scoreline unchanged.  It was a second consecutive Region Final loss for the Athenians and a denial of their attempt for a “title two-step.”

American Football Association Cup 1917 – Midwest Region Final

In the Midwest Regional Final, the Chicago West Side Kicks were host to their nearby rival, Milwaukee Cream City FC.  A large contingent of Milwaukee fans took the relatively short train ride down to West Side Park to see the battle. The local boys from the Windy City were feeling quite confident after topping the Penultimate Division to make an immediate return to the Ultimate.  Cream City had suffered a disappointing fall season, being only 2 points from a relegation spot, but they turned things around in the spring to climb up to a respectable 8th place.  Tensions were high in the stands and on the field as well.  Almost from the opening kickoff, brutal fouls were the rule of the day.  It was an ugly affair with no flow to the game.  The match was mainly played in the midfield.  Any budding attacks were quickly squelched with hard and usually illegal tackles.  One such tackle in the 21st minute led to Cream City free kick some twenty-five yards out.  The hulking Paul Tanner was brough forward to take the free kick.  With his powerful left foot, he smashed the ball towards the far post, but it deflected off of the head of Chicago’s Caden Brandt and was redirected to the near post.  Goalkeeper Robert Wills never had a chance.  Brandt, for his part, was prone on the field for a few minutes.  Smelling salts revived him, but Brandt was still dazed and was ineffectual for the rest of the match.  Hard play continued into the second half as Chicago looked for the equalizer.  In the dying minutes, the entire West Side Kicks squad was in the penalty area for a corner kick.  After pinballing around, the ball came to Micah Ford who launched a rocket from deep in his own half into the empty Chicago goal to seal the win.


 

American Football Association Cup 1917 - Eastern Region Final
In the Eastern Region Final, things looked grim for the defending champions when the host Bridegrooms opened the scoring with a screaming free kick from Payton Calhoun.  Philadelphia responded a scant two minutes later with a misplaced corner kick by Howard Arnold.  Best put Sports in the lead with a long range individual run, only to see Brooklyn draw level with a headball from Jay Holder.  Sports retook the lead when Jacob Meadows wove his way through the Brooklyn defense and then played 1-2 off of Tom Norris.  Near the expiration of the first half, Melvin Cannon delivered one of his namesake long-range shots for the equalizer.  

Three minutes into the second half, Cooper Stein closed the scoring after collecting a long diagonal ball from Arnold than put him one-on-one with the ‘Grooms keeper Day.  Things were chippy for the rest of the half with no further good chances for either side.

1916-1917 Southern Regional Division
The Nashville Athenians vaulted to the top of the table midway through the season and never relinquished the top spot of the table, claiming their first Southern Regional title.  The defending champions suffered through a seemingly endless string of injuries to finish a disappointing 10th place.  Charlotte Coronets were the bridesmaids once again, closing the season in second place.

1916-1917 Western Regional Division
The two powerhouses in the Western Division – Los Angeles Pumpjacks and Seatlle Black Diamonds - duked it out all season long.  In the end it was Pumpjacks who secured a second consecutive division title, edging the Black Diamonds by a single point.  Seattle had hoped to add a fourth title to their collection.